Ashaz Abdul Batin

The United Nations’ (UN) International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is annually observed on November 29. The day is also known as Solidarity Day.

First observed in 1977, Palestinian solidarity day falls on November 29 each year, as, on that day in 1947, the General Assembly adopted of the ’Partition Resolution’, which provided for the establishment in Palestine of a ‘Jewish State’ and an ‘Arab State’.

“We thank those states that have recognized the State of Palestine and the parliaments and people around the world who have voted for recognition. We also appreciate the religious leaders, trade unions, artists, and civil society organizations worldwide that have stood on the right side of justice and supported the Palestinian people in their attempts to seek a just peace,” she added.

In Paris on Thursday the senate ratified an earlier decision by the national assembly, while MPs in Denmark were holding the first reading of a motion urging the government to recognise Palestine as a state alongside Israel within its 1967 borders.

Wednesday’s vote by Irish MPs drew criticism from Israel, which argues that recognition prejudices the outcome of peace negotiations. The Israeli foreign ministry accused the Irish parliament of giving voice to “statements of hatred and antisemitism directed at Israel in a way which we have not heard before”.

Sweden has formally recognised the state of Palestine in October, the Swedish foreign minister said, less than a month after Stockholm announced its intention to make the controversial move, becoming the most prominent European country to do so and just the second after Iceland. All that official recognition means, really, is that it’s the official position of the Swedish government that Palestine is a country.

That means a lot in a situation this politically fraught. “The purpose of Sweden’s recognition is to contribute to a future in which Israel and Palestine can live side by side in peace and security,” Sweden’s minister for foreign affairs explained in a press release that also touts “a five-year aid strategy including substantially increased support to Palestinian state-building.”

“The Swedish government needs to understand that relations in the Middle East are more complicated than a piece of furniture from Ikea that you assemble at home,” said Israel’s hawkish Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

The satirical map, done in the form of the Swedish furniture manufacturer’s cartoonish guides, offers a critical take of current Israeli actions that’s being echoed in the international community.

Elsewhere in Europe, the parliaments of Britain, Ireland and Spain have all passed resolutions urging their governments to recognise a Palestinian state.

The British parliament in October voted in favor of recognising Palestine as an official state, answering impassioned pleas by pro-Palestinian ministers and activists. While the measure was approved 274-12, the vote is largely symbolic, however, as it does not mandate the government to change its policies regarding the long-disputed territory. RT’s Manila Chan has more details.

Other Countries

Europe is behind the curve here. The bulk of U.N. member states already recognize Palestine, including the majority of countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. These things have a way of gathering momentum. Most of the countries in South America flipped positions to recognize Palestine in rapid succession in 2011. For now, the European votes, with the exception of Sweden, have all been nonbinding parliamentary measures, but if a large European power decides to recognize, the others could follow suit quickly.

The majority of countries worldwide might recognize Palestine, but non-recognition is still the mainstream position among rich Western countries.

“Acknowledgment and recognition alone are powerful gestures which can facilitate an international norm,” said Yameen.

“The Maldives welcomes all efforts towards this goal, during the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. We hope to see a future where Palestine emerges as a State with full recognition from the United Nations.”

The Council of Foreign Ministers assembled Saturday in Cairo to discuss the current situation in Palestine. The meeting was attended by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Map: The countries that recognize Palestine as a state

As you can see in the map, most of the other nations that have not officially recognized Palestine are in the E.U. or are U.S. partners who wouldn’t want to ruffle Washington’s feathers. These include South Pacific island nations like Kiribati and Nauru.

Even then, it’s quite likely that the U.S. will find itself on this map within a steadily shrinking patch of gray in the months and years to come.

What does all this mean in real terms?

The violence still continues daily, new settlements are being announced and all the while Palestinians are on the receiving end of all this.

Israel’s most recent transgression of International Law had seen Al-Aqsa mosque targeted and the unprecedented closure of Al-Aqsa mosque to all worshippers.

This is a hostile, disproportionate, and blanket deprivation of fundamental freedoms (including right of association, religious practice, a place of worship, and historic landmarks) targeted at a specific people classed by their creed, religion, or ethnicity- thus fulfilling the criteria for a variation of recognised atrocities.

How much longer will one state be allowed to undermine the legitimacy and supremacy of an international legal system which is respected by, and applied to every other state?

Time will tell, but support for an Independent state of Palestine is growing day by day from the International Community and countries all over the world.